Club in the Scrub celebrates 50 years of Outback spirit

Gabi Anfang, Kath Yates and Jenny Stokes get into the swing of things at the Grawin Club in the Scrub 50th anniversary celebrations. Photo: Grawin Club in the Scrub

Story: Kristin Murdockkmurdock@outbackradio.com.au

What began as a grassroots response to expensive beer after a flood has grown into one of outback Australia’s most iconic watering holes, with more than 2,000 people converging on Grawin’s legendary Club in the Scrub to celebrate its 50th anniversary last weekend.

Locals, tourists, and opal miners packed the bush club over three days that captured everything the Club in the Scrub has come to represent – mateship, community, and a healthy dose of outback fun.

The celebrations kicked off on the Friday with a poker tournament, raffles and club trivia before Saturday’s live music, pool competitions and the ever-popular Joker Draw kept the festivities rolling into the night. Sunday’s “Hit and Giggle” golf competition, where players created their own makeshift clubs, provided a fittingly quirky finale to the milestone weekend.

Club manager Trent Linsley said the anniversary had exceeded expectations.

“We were flat out for the whole time,” he said. “There was a mix of locals and tourists, and it was a really good weekend.”

One of the weekend’s biggest surprises came when renowned Australian artist John Murray arrived to officially unveil one of his paintings, which now hangs proudly in the club.

Mr Linsley said the artwork had been painted several years ago but had never made it to the club wall.

“When I took over the club earlier this year, they still hadn’t collected or hung John’s painting, so I thought we’d do it for the 50th,” he said. […]

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